Foreplay
by thatpersonwhoisthatperson
Summary: Tony remembers that Pepper's never played Operation before, and makes time to teach her how. Add in several drinks and with that famous UST, they're bound to crack. Post-IM1, Pepperony, one-shot.


**Note: I went to Target last weekend and low and behold, I found an **_**Iron Man**_** Operation board game. YES. It's perfect, too, because of that one scene from the first movie…*sighs***

**But please enjoy! I had to write this after ~roguelane on here sparked my inspiration. ;)**

"Hey Potts, you got a minute?" Tony asked, smirking and holding something behind his back.

Pepper puffed her bangs out of her eyes. "Mr. Stark, you're supposed to be on conference call with R&D."

"Where have you been? That was over a while ago." Tony strolled over and stood behind her back, peering over her shoulder at the numerous spreadsheets on the laptop screen. Before Pepper could register what was happening, he swiftly shut the laptop and plucked it out of her hands. He tossed it across the room to the armchair where it landed with a soft thud.

"I don't have time for games," Pepper snapped, massaging her temples. "There's a lot of work to do today and I can't afford to – I didn't even save my files!"

"Which is why I think we could use a break," Tony said, ignoring her latter comment. "Wanna guess what I've got behind my back?"

"Tony, I don't know, can't you just show me?"

"It's no fun that way, Miss Potts," Tony chided lightly. His smirk – it was starting to grow on Pepper's nerves by this point – grew as he revealed a game box.

Pepper raised both her eyebrows. "You had an _Iron Man_ board game made? Really, Tony, can your ego even get any bigger?"

"It's not just any Iron Man board game," he said, tapping the cover. "Look."

"_Operation_?" Pepper read in confusion. Then she sighed exasperatedly. "Mr. Stark, you didn't have to come out with this just because I've never played it. I could have simply purchased the original."

"I'll reiterate: it's no fun that way." At the look she gave him, Tony laughed, and opened the box in order to assemble the game.

"Wait, we're playing this now?" Pepper asked, annoyed.

"'Course," Tony muttered and took the seat next to her. "Since you, obviously, don't know how to play, I will do the honor of instructing you."

"Can't I just read the directions?"

"No."

"Why not?" she challenged.

"I'll explain it to you. What, don't trust me?" Tony asked with that same, arrogant smirk on his far too eager face.

He thought he heard her mumble something that sounded an awful lot like "not really, no," but he couldn't be sure.

Tony stood up. "Be right back."

"Where are you going?" Pepper questioned.

"To get us a drink. We're relaxing, aren't we?" He said unflappably. "What do you like, red or white wine?"

Pepper sighed, no fight left in her. It had been a long day, she mused. "Red. Preferably something heavy."

"You got it." Tony disappeared, and then came back out of the kitchen minutes later with two flukes and a large bottle of the aforementioned wine. Pepper grabbed one and took a long sip.

"Now take the tweezers and take one of the pieces out. We're playing without the cards to start," Tony instructed after sitting back down.

Pepper raised her eyebrow again. "Weren't you going to explain the rules to me?"

"Yeah…as we go along." She glared at him. "Oh, come on! Actions speak louder than words and all that crap, right?"

"Fine." Pepper angled her arm and tried for the piece labeled "fried power core."

Tony snickered. "I knew you'd go for that."

"Oh, ha-ha," she said sardonically.

Her hand slipped and the game board buzzed and shook, and Pepper nearly jumped out of her skin. Tony fell to the ground with laughter.

"You didn't tell me it was going to do _that_!" Pepper yelled, adrenaline still pumping. "Idiot. Get up."

"Sorry, sorry. Just wanted to gauge your reaction. And it was _priceless_!" Tony finally said after calming himself down. "Seriously, after what happened to me when you changed the core in the workshop, you still didn't think that would happen?"

Pepper glared and brushed off her skirt, then sat back down. "I…forgot I guess. I knew it caused you pain in reality, but I didn't think it would actually buzz and shake like that in the game. I thought you were exaggerating."

"Nope." Tony grinned and took the tweezers into his own hand, finishing off his third drink. "My turn."

"I'd like to see you try," Pepper said with a smirk of her own, pouring herself a third fluke.

"Now remember Miss Potts, I haven't played this in…ballpark, eleven years, so I may be a bit rusty."

She rolled her eyes. "Right, of course, Mr. Stark."

Tony chuckled and went for the "wrecked repulsor."

"Did you come up with these names?" Pepper inquired.

His lip turned up slightly. "Nah. I would've come up with something way better."

Tony's tweezers-occupied hand slowly lowered into the nook where the piece was held…

…and Pepper shoved him hard across the couch just before he went to grab it. This triggered the buzzer, and Pepper burst into a fit of laughter. Tony hoisted himself up, feigning annoyance.

"You, Pepper Potts, are a cheater. That's not fair, you know," Tony told her with a playful, rough edge in his voice.

Pepper smiled triumphantly and raised her eyebrows quickly, challenging. After a few drinks, she was more than a little presumptuous. "I got even. It's perfectly fair."

"Wrong," Tony said simply, just as tipsy as she, and half-leapt across the couch in order to pin her down. They wrestled flippantly for a while, until Pepper took hold of Tony's wrists rather tight. Everything was silent except for the sound of their heavy breathing, their eyes locked. They could both feel the intensity of all the sexual tension that had been there for years.

Without any planning whatsoever, and just acting on plain instinct, Pepper hungrily pulled Tony down on top of her and kissed him. There was so much heat and pressure and, to put it politely, they were ravishing each other's mouths. Tony's hand curled around her head to tangle in her hair, and Pepper moaned into his mouth, giving Tony incentive to edge on.

But when they broke away for air, something in Pepper's mind clicked. She wasn't too far gone as to realize that this should not be happening, albeit whatever Tony's kiss was doing to her body and her heart. Boy did that feel nice… Later on she would be kicking herself mentally for having not one, but several drinks in the company of Tony Stark.

Her grip had gone lax, but she found some feeble strength to push Tony off of her, just enough to get up, grab her previously discarded laptop and head for the door.

She licked her lips in a way that Tony found incredibly sexy. "Good night, Mr. Stark," she said after a moment's hesitation. Before she could change her mind, she quickly exited the mansion and headed towards her car, but not before she thought how hard it was becoming to ignore the feelings of genuine love between the two of them. Unknown to her, Tony was thinking the same thing.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Tony groaned loudly and threw his head back against the cushions. Who knew that getting Pepper even the slightest bit intoxicated could produce…that? He wouldn't be sleeping too comfortably tonight, he could already tell.

_Pepper…we need to do this more often._

END.


End file.
